tocsin

[ tok-sin ]

noun

1. a signal, especially of alarm, sounded on a bell or bells.
2. a bell used to sound an alarm.

tocsin

/ ˈtɒksɪn /

noun

1. an alarm or warning signal, esp one sounded on a bell
2. an alarm bell

Word History and Origins

Origin of tocsin¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French, from Provençal tocasenh, literally, “(it) strikes (the) bell,” equivalent to toca, 3rd-person singular present of tocar “to strike, touch ” + senh “bell, sign ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tocsin¹

C16: from French, from Old French toquassen, from Old Provençal tocasenh, from tocar to touch + senh bell, from Latin signum

Example Sentences

Still, few poems are more famous than “The Raven” with its dolorous tocsin, “Nevermore.”

From Washington Post

All over Europe and the United States, political scientists were sounding the tocsin for any balanced, values-based politics.

From Salon

We have grabbed onto that great tocsin of American freedom and will not surrender it -- even if too many millions of white Americans have discarded it for cheaply made "MAGA" hats.

From Salon

It blazed deep red for a moment and then dwindled into a patch of gray smoke, but it was a signal as clear as a tocsin in the night.

From Literature

These statistics should prompt all rationalists to sound the proverbial tocsin with unrelenting fury.

From Salon